Hornets remain winless after loss to Opelika

CHELSEA -- When you’re having the kind of football season that the Chelsea High School squad is having, the breaks just don’t seem to come your way.

Twice in the first half of their homecoming game Friday against visiting Opelika, the Hornets had driven deep into Bulldog territory, only to have the Dawgs’ defense completely turn the tables as they took a 37-10 road victory.

Midway through the first quarter after stopping an Opelika drive on downs, Chelsea had moved the ball to the Bulldog 28-yard line, only to fumble the ball and have C.J. Jordan run 72 yards the other way for a scoop-and-score Opelika touchdown.

Then early in the second quarter, with the Hornets facing fourth-and-5 at the Bulldog 20, quarterback Turner Griffin fired a pass right into the hands of Opelika defensive back Jaylen Stinson, who was standing inside his own 1-yard line. Stinson dashed 99 yards down the guests’ sideline for the score.

Those defensive scores made a tough task even tougher for the hosts, who saw their winless streak extended to seven games this season, and eight overall, including their loss to Bessemer City in last year’s playoff first round. And a frustrated coach Chris Elmore is still looking for an answer to the question of why they can’t seem to post that first “W.”

“When you’re 0-6 and get down to a team as good as they [Opelika] are, it would be easy to quit, but our guys didn’t, and I’m proud of them for that,” Elmore said. “Our defense played great all night, and it should’ve been 9-7 at the half.”

But even though the Hornet defense held its own against a larger Bulldog offense, they didn’t have an answer for running back Malik Wilson. As UAB head coach Bill Clark looked on from the sidelines, Wilson scored his team’s other three touchdowns — runs for 18 and 3 yards, plus a 26-yard scoring pass from quarterback Matthew Blackmon (seeing his first action in four weeks). Not a bad night for someone who started the season third on the depth chart, but moved up because of injuries that have plagued numerous Opelika starters.

Chelsea didn’t give up despite the deficit, cutting the halftime margin to 23-7 thanks to a 2-yard run by Kendrick Simpson late in the second period. That drive started on the Hornet 19, but was helped by two straight Opelika penalties, one of which resulted in the ejection of lineman Wanya Boler.

The home team did see a few successes, like thwarting a Dawgs drive when they recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchback in the third quarter

Michael Middleton added a 38-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter for Chelsea. Opelika kicker Ethan Sellers blasted a 43-yard three-pointer in the first half, just after Elmore gambled a bit and took a holding penalty on fourth down to put Sellers back from what would have been a chip shot for him. The gamble was irrelevant, as Sellers' kick would have been good from 50 yards.

Simpson had 54 yards rushing on 21 carries for the Hornets. Kani Thompson ran 10 times for 58 yards, and Wilson added 71 yards on 18 carries for the Bulldogs.

Griffin threw five completions on 18 attempts with one interception, gaining 64 passing yards for Chelsea. Blackmon was 11-of-23 for 148 yards passing with one interception and one touchdown for Opelika (5-3, 3-1 region).

Chelsea hits the road next week, as they face a one-win Chilton County team that’s struggled almost as much as the Hornets.